Forgiveness - "forgiveness" in the Strong's Concordance (#859) is "aphesis" which means 1. release from bondage or imprisonment, 2. forgiveness or pardon of sins.
Definition #1 - release from bondage or imprisonment - most people unwittingly allow the enemy to put THEM in bondage or imprisonment because they refuse to forgive someone who has transgressed against them. When you forgive, YOU GET RELEASED FROM BONDAGE AND IMPRISONMENT. When you don't forgive, it's not the unforgiven that get imprisoned, but the unforgiver!
In John 20:23 Jesus said, "Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted (remitted means sent far from you, removed). Whosoever sins ye retain, their sins are retained." The question is...who is carrying the load - the weight - the burden of the unforgiven sin? It is the unforgiver; because Christ ALREADY paid with His blood to take away that very sin the enemy is trying to get you offended over. Better to remit the sin (send it far from you) by forgiving the human rather than to retain the person's sin and bear the weight of the offense.
The enemy tries to weigh you down with the care, the weight, the sting of that other person's sin. The enemy tries to get you to pick up the offense and carry the burden. However, we are admonished to lay aside EVERY weight and the sin that does so easily beset us (Heb 12:1). The sin of unforgiveness is a heavier weight than the offense / transgression that the person did against you in the first place. Simply because unforgiveness is resisting / frustrating the grace of God who is The Forgiver. It flies in the face of the grace Christ extended by laying down His life to pay the penalty for that person's sin against you. Christ Himself bears the burden of that person's sin so you don't have to.
Let Christ's payment be enough and don't try to exact payment on your own. If you do, you will be the one that ends up in debt, burdened, weighted down. A wise person once said that unforgiveness and the resulting bitterness is like drinking poison yourself and expecting the other person to die.
It is a case of "give and it shall be given unto you". The verse goes on to say"pressed down, shaken together and running over"(Luke 6:38). What you give to others will come back to you like a boomerang, but multiplied as it comes back pressed down, shaken together and running over.
GIVE FORGIVENESS - that is what grace is for..."for"-giving!
You will see that as you forgive, you will be the one "released from bondage or imprisonment".
Next blog to find out how to forgive from your heart all who have offended you.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Live-in help
Which one of us would not opt for a live-in housekeeper or live-in nanny or administrative assistant? We have something even better! Each of us has been given a live-in Source of life and help called the Holy Spirit of Christ. The Holy Spirit is with you, in you and flows through you to get life help and help to you.
Oddly enough, many of us hardly allows Him to speak. We fill the airwaves with our own words, our own worries, our unbelief, our complaining or murmuring. We all know the truth that says,"Life and death are in the power of the tongue" (Prov. 18:21) and most of us are trying to speak positively and nicely. But, there is a greater truth in this scripture. The Holy Spirit, who has been given to you by our Father, was given to us for purpose.
What purpose?
First, to speak LIFE to us and through us. The Holy Spirit NEVER speaks death. He has only life to impart...and life more abundantly than what you are experiencing now. Think about it, you've been doing most of the talking and how's that been working for you?!?!?
Chances are you've been pleading, begging, cajoling - nearly standing on your head trying to get God to move on your behalf when all along you've had HIS VERY PRESENCE with you and in you. Instead of asking Him to provide something He has already done, let Him pray through you.
We don't know how to pray as we ought, but the Holy Spirit does!
Let Him! Let, allow, permit Him, through your earthen vessel, using your tongue, to speak life into your situation. You provide the tongue, He provides the utterance. Praying in tongues allows the Holy Spirit to pray the good, acceptable and perfect will of God on your behalf. He knows what to say - He knows your need and what's more - He knows God's supply. The Holy Spirit also knows your enemy's tactics and plans AND He knows how to overcome that evil with the good God has already provided for you.
The Holy spirit is well versed with the mighty weapons of your warfare and He knows how to lead you in the triumph. He knows how to win the battle and give you the victory. The Holy Spirit, that SAME Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead, dwells in your earthen vessel. The Scriptures say that the excellent power is from Him, but it is in our earthen vessel (2 Cor 4:7). When we pray in tongues, we are allowing that excellent power to flow, unhindered, by our thinking or our unbelief. Plus, our enemy cannot gainsay or comprehend what the Holy Spirit is saying and, therefore, cannot devise a tactic or a rebuttal.
Praying in tongues is WIN - WIN situation for you and the kingdom of God, but a LOSE - LOSE situation for our enemy and the kingdom of darkness. Are you aware that praying in tongues is an act of your will, not solely His? The apostle Paul said,"I thank God that I speak in tongues more than you all" (2Cor 4:18) and Paul also said these telling words..."I will pray in the Spirit and I will pray with understanding."(1 Cor 14:15). Notice the presence of the word "will". You choose to pray in tongues. You choose to yield your member, your tongue - to the Holy Spirit and He prays through you.
Notice also that it's first praying in the Spirit and THEN follows praying with understanding. That is because when you pray in tongues first, understanding comes to you so you will pray with understanding. The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Understanding so when you let Him pray, understanding will dawn on you. Then you will pray with understanding.
The Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of Wisdom. You are all familiar with the passage that reads," If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all men liberally." (James 1:5) One of the quickest and most sure ways of getting wisdom to you is by letting the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom, pray through you and wisdom will manifest.
The Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of Might so when you need strength, pray in tongues and you will receive strength. The Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of Knowledge. Let Him give you a word of knowledge. Pray in tongues and receive the knowledge that you need.
The Holy Spirit is also the Spirit of Council. He is YOUR wonderful counselor and He does not charge you anything for His council. It is free for the taking by simply by-passing your natural understanding and your many, many words and praying in tongues. You might wonder where I am getting all of this about the Holy Spirit. It is found in Isaiah 11:2, "And the spirit of the Lord will rest upon Him, the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, the Spirit of Council and Might, the Spirit of Knowledge and Reverence (fear of the Lord)."
This last attribute of reverence / fear of the Lord is SO pivotal in all of our lives just like it was in Jesus' life when HE walked on this planet. Remember when Moses struck the rock the second time after God had instructed him to speak to the Rock instead - Moses had struck the rock in his anger towards the people's behavior. God did not reprimand him for being angry, but told Moses that he did not REVERE God as holy.(Num 20:12) It was so important to God that Moses carry out the typology of speaking to the Rock that had already been struck BECAUSE striking the Rock was the picture of the cross. It was imperative that the Rock not be repeatedly struck, but simply spoken to because it is speaking to the Rock that causes that river of living water to flow to our earthen vessels today.
Speaking in tongues is that river of living water unleashed to flow into your soul, your situations, your needs and on behalf of others. This is the day that we speak to the Rock, Christ Jesus, by asking Him for the gift of His Holy Spirit in our earthen vessel. If you have not asked Him yet to immerse you in His Holy Spirit, ask Him right now. Jesus told the woman at the well,"If you knew the Gift of God (the Holy Spirit) and Who is speaking to you, you would have asked and He would give you living water!!!". Dear ones - the Gift of God is the Holy Spirit. The One speaking to you today is Jesus Christ, the Rock of Salvation. Ask Him for that precious gift. Freely receive what He has freely given.
Your life will never be the same. You have that live-in help that is so necessary to overcome and more than conquer. It is the joy of the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom, understanding, council, might, knowledge and reverence for our Father God who loves you dearly.
Oddly enough, many of us hardly allows Him to speak. We fill the airwaves with our own words, our own worries, our unbelief, our complaining or murmuring. We all know the truth that says,"Life and death are in the power of the tongue" (Prov. 18:21) and most of us are trying to speak positively and nicely. But, there is a greater truth in this scripture. The Holy Spirit, who has been given to you by our Father, was given to us for purpose.
What purpose?
First, to speak LIFE to us and through us. The Holy Spirit NEVER speaks death. He has only life to impart...and life more abundantly than what you are experiencing now. Think about it, you've been doing most of the talking and how's that been working for you?!?!?
Chances are you've been pleading, begging, cajoling - nearly standing on your head trying to get God to move on your behalf when all along you've had HIS VERY PRESENCE with you and in you. Instead of asking Him to provide something He has already done, let Him pray through you.
We don't know how to pray as we ought, but the Holy Spirit does!
Let Him! Let, allow, permit Him, through your earthen vessel, using your tongue, to speak life into your situation. You provide the tongue, He provides the utterance. Praying in tongues allows the Holy Spirit to pray the good, acceptable and perfect will of God on your behalf. He knows what to say - He knows your need and what's more - He knows God's supply. The Holy Spirit also knows your enemy's tactics and plans AND He knows how to overcome that evil with the good God has already provided for you.
The Holy spirit is well versed with the mighty weapons of your warfare and He knows how to lead you in the triumph. He knows how to win the battle and give you the victory. The Holy Spirit, that SAME Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead, dwells in your earthen vessel. The Scriptures say that the excellent power is from Him, but it is in our earthen vessel (2 Cor 4:7). When we pray in tongues, we are allowing that excellent power to flow, unhindered, by our thinking or our unbelief. Plus, our enemy cannot gainsay or comprehend what the Holy Spirit is saying and, therefore, cannot devise a tactic or a rebuttal.
Praying in tongues is WIN - WIN situation for you and the kingdom of God, but a LOSE - LOSE situation for our enemy and the kingdom of darkness. Are you aware that praying in tongues is an act of your will, not solely His? The apostle Paul said,"I thank God that I speak in tongues more than you all" (2Cor 4:18) and Paul also said these telling words..."I will pray in the Spirit and I will pray with understanding."(1 Cor 14:15). Notice the presence of the word "will". You choose to pray in tongues. You choose to yield your member, your tongue - to the Holy Spirit and He prays through you.
Notice also that it's first praying in the Spirit and THEN follows praying with understanding. That is because when you pray in tongues first, understanding comes to you so you will pray with understanding. The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Understanding so when you let Him pray, understanding will dawn on you. Then you will pray with understanding.
The Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of Wisdom. You are all familiar with the passage that reads," If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all men liberally." (James 1:5) One of the quickest and most sure ways of getting wisdom to you is by letting the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom, pray through you and wisdom will manifest.
The Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of Might so when you need strength, pray in tongues and you will receive strength. The Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of Knowledge. Let Him give you a word of knowledge. Pray in tongues and receive the knowledge that you need.
The Holy Spirit is also the Spirit of Council. He is YOUR wonderful counselor and He does not charge you anything for His council. It is free for the taking by simply by-passing your natural understanding and your many, many words and praying in tongues. You might wonder where I am getting all of this about the Holy Spirit. It is found in Isaiah 11:2, "And the spirit of the Lord will rest upon Him, the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, the Spirit of Council and Might, the Spirit of Knowledge and Reverence (fear of the Lord)."
This last attribute of reverence / fear of the Lord is SO pivotal in all of our lives just like it was in Jesus' life when HE walked on this planet. Remember when Moses struck the rock the second time after God had instructed him to speak to the Rock instead - Moses had struck the rock in his anger towards the people's behavior. God did not reprimand him for being angry, but told Moses that he did not REVERE God as holy.(Num 20:12) It was so important to God that Moses carry out the typology of speaking to the Rock that had already been struck BECAUSE striking the Rock was the picture of the cross. It was imperative that the Rock not be repeatedly struck, but simply spoken to because it is speaking to the Rock that causes that river of living water to flow to our earthen vessels today.
Speaking in tongues is that river of living water unleashed to flow into your soul, your situations, your needs and on behalf of others. This is the day that we speak to the Rock, Christ Jesus, by asking Him for the gift of His Holy Spirit in our earthen vessel. If you have not asked Him yet to immerse you in His Holy Spirit, ask Him right now. Jesus told the woman at the well,"If you knew the Gift of God (the Holy Spirit) and Who is speaking to you, you would have asked and He would give you living water!!!". Dear ones - the Gift of God is the Holy Spirit. The One speaking to you today is Jesus Christ, the Rock of Salvation. Ask Him for that precious gift. Freely receive what He has freely given.
Your life will never be the same. You have that live-in help that is so necessary to overcome and more than conquer. It is the joy of the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom, understanding, council, might, knowledge and reverence for our Father God who loves you dearly.
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